Snapchat has pulled the plug on its original content

Well, that’s the end of that Snap Story. Just five months ago, Snapchat announced their own original content, called Snap Channel, with the hire of Marcus Wiley, a former senior vice president at Fox. Now, they’ve called it quits. The company has fired the 15 employees hired to work on the channel after pulling it from the “Discover” page a few weeks ago.

With 100 million active users, it’s not surprising that Snapchat wanted to branch out. In January, the app launched the “Discover” page as a platform for companies like CNN, Yahoo, and BuzzFeed to create, post, and share their own content. If you’re like me, after hearing this news was the first time you ever went to look at them. It’s admittedly kind of cool, but after Snap Channel came to Snapchat with the budget they would need to move forward, Snapchat gave them the boot.

So what about those 15 employees? A Snapchat spokesperson spoke to Tech Crunch about Wiley, explaining that, “Given that we are winding down the Snap Channel, it’s natural that Marcus would want to explore other opportunities. He is a tremendous talent and we wish him well.”

No word on the other employees, whose short-lived venture probably isn’t indicative of their talent. It just wasn’t the right time for Snapchat to make this step. They’re too busy giving us fun new filters, and honestly, I’d watch my friends vomit rainbows or turn into emojis more than I’d watch original content, anyways.

(Image via focal point / Shutterstock.com)